TEL AVIV—As Israel advances its invasion of southern Lebanon, its troops are finding large troves of Russian weapons, confirming longstanding suspicions in Israel that Hezbollah is enhancing its fighting capacity with the help of sophisticated Russian arms.
Some of the weapons, which include modern Kornet antitank missiles manufactured as recently as 2020, were sent to southern Lebanon in recent years from Russian stockpiles in neighboring Syria, according to Syrian security officials and an Arab official. Russia has long provided arms to Syria’s military, as well as controlling its own warehouses in the country.
The Israeli military claims it killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a military operation in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Sinwar had been credited with being the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, during which over 1,100 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage. It was the deadliest attack against Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Israel Defense Forces said in an X post on Oct. 17 that they were investigating whether Sinwar was one of the three terrorists killed during a patrol in Gaza. The Associated Press reported that Israel was using Sinwar’s DNA, which is on file from his time in prison, to determine whether he was one of the terrorists killed. The IDF stressed there were no hostages in the area.
Hours later, the IDF posted that they had “eliminated” Sinwar.
The first part of the plan – booby-trapped radios – was initiated by Mossad in Lebanon in 2015. The concept for the pager operation emerged in 2022 and began to be implemented more than a year before the Hamas attack on October 7, reports The Washington Post.
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A special proposal, allegedly from a well-known Taiwanese company, was developed for Hezbollah militants. The Apollo AR924 pager was somewhat bulky but ideal for combat conditions. It was waterproof and equipped with an extended battery that could last for months without recharging. However, its main advantage was its purported anti-tampering protection. Hezbollah leaders were so impressed that they purchased 5,000 units and began distributing them to mid-level fighters and support staff in February.
According to officials from Israel, the US, and Middle Eastern countries, around 3,000 Hezbollah officers and members were killed or injured when Mossad remotely activated the devices on September 17.
The idea for the pager operation originated in 2022, with elements of the plan being implemented more than a year before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
The first part of the plan – booby-trapped radios – was initiated by Mossad in Lebanon nearly ten years ago, in 2015. The mobile two-way radios contained large battery packs, hidden explosives, and a transmission system that provided Israel with full access to Hezbollah’s communications.
According to sources, for nine years, Israeli operatives eavesdropped on Hezbollah while maintaining the capability to turn the radios into bombs. However, a new opportunity arose: a small pager equipped with powerful explosives.
The Israeli military last night confirmed that it has launched a ground invasion of Lebanon, as fears mount that the escalation could plunge the Middle East into an all-out war.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had begun ‘localised and targeted raids’ against Hezbollah enemies in southern Lebanon.
‘These targets are located in villages close to the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel,’ the military added.
It added that the operation will continue ‘according to the situational assessment and in parallel to combat in Gaza and in other arenas’.
The ground invasion has been supported by a series of air strikes, with dramatic pictures showing the missiles lighting up the sky above Beirut.
British nationals have been urged to leave Lebanon immediately, with Foreign Secretary David Lammy warning the conflict could ‘escalate in a major way’.
The US said it was informed beforehand about Israel’s raid, which have been described as ‘limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border.’
Israel says its warplanes have struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after detecting moves to launch an aerial attack on Israel.
The Israeli military said around 100 fighter jets had destroyed “thousands” of rocket launchers on Sunday morning, in what it described as an act of “self-defence”. Lebanon’s health ministry reported that three people had been killed.
Hezbollah later said it had fired hundreds of rockets towards northern Israel, calling it “phase one” of a multi-stage attack in retaliation for the killing of a senior commander. No casualties have been reported in Israel.
The exchange marks a major escalation of tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed Shia Muslim armed group.
Why are people telling the Israelis to stand down when the Gazans won’t? It is worth noting that the Gazans are filtering back into areas that the Israelis have left to stage more attacks. It confirms that the only way the violence ends for Israelis or Gazans if for Israel to reestablish full control of the region. It won’t be easy or painless. But it is necessary for peace.
CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) – The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group fired a barrage of rockets into Israel on Monday, in an apparent show of force as Israeli tanks pressed their advance deeper into Gaza amid fierce fighting, residents and officials said.
The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed ally of Hamas, said its fighters fired rockets towards several Israeli settlements near the fence with Gaza in response to “the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our Palestinian people”.
The volley of around 20 rockets caused no casualties, according to the Israeli military. But it showed militants still possess rocket capabilities almost nine months into Israel’s offensive it says is aimed at neutralising threats against it.
In some parts of Gaza, militants continue to stage attacks on Israeli forces in areas that the army had left months ago.
Four hostages kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival during the 7 October attacks have been rescued in a daylight raid deep in central Gaza.
Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrei Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were freed during a “high-risk, complex mission” from two separate buildings in the Nuseirat area, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The IDF said the four are in good medical condition and have been transferred to the ‘Sheba’ Tel-HaShomer Medical Center, where they have been pictured embracing family members waiting at the facility.
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IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the mission was based on “precise” intelligence and that Israeli forces came under fire during the operation.
One special forces officer was wounded in the Gaza hostage rescue and later died in hospital, Israel police said.
Few comments. First, this is why the war continues. It all could have ended months ago had Hamas released the hostages and surrendered. Hamas is the aggressor and they will not stop until someone stops them. That is what Israel is doing… stopping them.
Second, I’ll admit, I thought all of the hostages were dead by now. The horror that must have experienced is unimaginable.
Third, it is notable that the hostages were being held in civilian houses protected by Hamas fighters and supporting civilian residents – if one can even articulate a difference between who is formally Hamas and who is just casually Hamas. And those differences fluctuate from moment to moment. Asking the IDF to tell the difference in real time is an unreasonable standard.
Fourth, I’ve been trying to think of how I would react – how most Americans would react – in a similar situation. Israel essentially gave Gaza to the Palestinians years ago. They have been self-governing while Israel continues to manage the borders. Israel has provided financial, infrastructure, and logistical support for the improvement of the Gazan condition. The Palestinians elected Hamas and have overwhelmingly supported them ever since. Over the years, Gazans have launched rockets and terror attacks into Israel.
Where is there a similar situation in America? The federal government has essentially ceded millions of acres of land to many Native American Tribes. They are effectively self-governing within the borders of the reservations. The taxpayers of the nation provide financial, infrastructure, and logistical support for the improvement of the Tribal condition. What if one of the tribes launched an attack on Summerfest, killed over a thousand people, raped old women and children, took hundreds of hostages, and retreated to the reservation? Would you support bringing down the full force of the U.S. Military on Tribal forces until every single hostage was freed? Would you support continuing the action until the people who launched and supported the attack are dead or in prison? Would you support a reconsideration of allowing the same people who launched the attack to continue to hold the reins of power and exercise self-governance?
I would. Most Americans would. That is what Israel is facing and why most Americans support them.
But a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday said Israel’s goals — “the destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel” — would need to be met before a permanent ceasefire can begin.
“Under the proposal, Israel will continue to insist these conditions are met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place. The notion that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are fulfilled is a non-starter,” the statement said.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military said Wednesday it seized control of a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt to cut off smuggling tunnels as it tries to destroy the militant Hamas group in a war that is now in its eighth month.
The capture of the Philadelphi Corridor could complicate Israel’s relations with Egypt, which has complained about Israel’s advance toward its border. Israel says the corridor is awash in tunnels that have funneled weapons and other goods for Hamas — despite a yearslong blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt.
Israel also deepened its incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands have been seeking shelter from fighting, and where intensifying violence in recent days has killed dozens of Palestinians. The military said that a fifth brigade — up to several thousand soldiers — joined troops operating in the city on Tuesday.
While it is easy to laugh and/or roll your eyes at yet another expensive, wasteful, ridiculous stunt-gone-bad by our hapless president, there is a real worry here.
TEL AVIV — The U.S. military has been forced to suspend aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip by sea after its temporary pier system off Gaza suffered damage in bad weather, the Defense Department confirmed Tuesday.
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The damage is the latest setback to the temporary pier system, which President Joe Biden announced during his State of the Union address in March and became operational just two weeks ago.
Over the weekend, four small U.S. military boats involved in ferrying aid broke from their moorings in bad weather, U.S. Central Command said. Two of them washed up on the coast of southern Israel near the city of Ashdod, while the other two beached in Gaza.
An American service member also remains in critical condition in an Israeli hospital after having suffered noncombat injuries on the pier last week, a U.S. defense official said. Two other service members sustained minor injuries.
The temporary pier, known in military parlance as a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore capability, was designed to get more aid into Gaza and help fend off famine, which the U.N. says has broken out in the north of the besieged Strip.
While the policy to put this pier in was idiotic, we should expect our military to be able to execute it well. They did not. Our mighty American military appears incapable of an engineering feat that should be well within their abilities. We’ve been building temporary piers for the purpose of landing supplies in a war zone since the Civil War. Yet it’s sinking within a week? What if there were Americans under fire on the other end of that pier waiting for supplies?
The policy was bad, but the execution should have been flawless.
Most Americans have stood aghast as a wave of antisemitic and pro-Hamas protests swept through our universities. We thought that such hate was the stuff of 1905 Russia or 1938 Germany, but here we are witnessing it in 2024 America amongst those who are supposed to be our future. Many universities responded deplorably, but none more so than the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Hamas has been clear about their goal to wipe out Israel and the Jews who live there since their inception. Everything they have done — including the October 7 massacre — has been to further that goal. While one can criticize Israel’s response to the attacks and wish for peace, the campus protests long since descended into the hateful rhetoric of, and support for, Hamas.
Some universities took immediate action to clear out illegal encampments and threatening protesters. Some universities offered minimal appeasement coupled with a firm rejection of hate. Then there is UWM, which decided to weigh in with full-throated support for Hamas and has encouraged a campus culture where Jewish students can no longer feel safe.
The protests and encampment at UWM was instigated by the UWM Popular University for Palestine Coalition (PUPC), whose coalition includes the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Muslim Student Association (MSA), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Un-PAC, and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA). These groups range in interests from communism to overthrowing capitalism to ending our republic to the destruction of Israel. All of their interests coalesced around supporting Hamas in their terrorism against Jews.
These groups are well-funded and well-organized. In return for ending an encampment that was already illegal, UWM Chancellor Mark Mone and the UWM leadership gave these communists and Hamas supporters a seat at the table. Mone agreed to have the UWM Foundation release financial statements to the PUPC and meet with them to discuss where the Foundation invests.
Mone also agreed to “study” whether UWM should end studying abroad in Israel and pressured the Water Council, on whose board Mone serves, to end relationships with two Israeli companies. Mone agreed to forgo any punishments for the protestors’ encampments despite the violation of state law. He agreed to further meetings and a working group with PUPC for a “series of campus conversations and educational opportunities.” That’s eduspeak for “spreading Hamas propaganda.”
Most egregious was Mone’s statement on behalf of UWM condemning Israel for responding to Hamas’ violent pogrom of October 7. Calling Israel’s war in Gaza a “plausible genocide,” Mone calls for a ceasefire in Gaza without any precondition for Hamas to release hostages or stop their violence against civilians. Mone voiced this condemnation with full knowledge that Hamas started the war, raped and killed civilian women and children, and has repeatedly rejected a ceasefire. Mone’s statement is indistinguishable from those issued by antisemites and Hamas supporters that were camping on the UWM campus.
Rightfully, Jewish groups Hillel Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, and the Anti-Defamation League Midwest, condemned Mone’s UWM for appeasing PUPC. After reminding us that Mone has refused to meet with Jewish students despite a surge of antisemitic incidents on campus since October 7, they say, “Chancellor Mone gave protesters who fueled hate and violated school policies at UWM a seat at the table and even invited them to nominate individuals and faculty to serve on key university committees and working groups … the chancellor’s decision to grant immunity to individuals who mocked and broke school rules and the law sets a dangerous precedent for future incidents on campus.” Indeed, it does.
When given an opportunity to educate young adults and reject antisemitic, terrorist, and communist activists, UWM and Chancellor Mone chose to support and enable them. This choice is a disgrace that succors a culture of hate on the UWM campus.
According to one U.S. official, the U.S. Air Force has been told by the White House National Security Council to pause the delivery of ammunition already approved and under contract, waiting to be shipped from Dover Air Force Base.
A second U.S. official confirmed to ABC News that the NSC was behind the decision to pause the munitions. U.S. officials said the delay is being done intentionally.
The NSC has not confirmed the decision or said why the shipment was put on hold. Instead, administration officials have noted that the overall U.S. policy toward Israel hasn’t changed.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas announced its acceptance Monday of an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but Israel said the deal did not meet its “core demands” and that it was pushing ahead with an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Still, Israel said it would continue negotiations.
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Hamas’s abrupt acceptance of the cease-fire deal came hours after Israel ordered an evacuation of some 100,000 Palestinians from eastern neighborhoods of Rafah, signaling an invasion was imminent.
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On Sunday, Hamas fighters near the Rafah crossing fired mortars into southern Israel, killing four Israeli soldiers.
This is nuts. Every negotiation should begin with, “release all of the hostages, and then…”
Riyadh and JerusalemCNN —
Hamas is considering a new framework proposed by Egypt that calls for the group to release as many as 33 hostages kidnapped from Israel in exchange for a pause in hostilities in Gaza, an Israeli source familiar with the negotiations and a foreign diplomatic source told CNN.
The latest proposal, which Israel helped craft but has not fully agreed to, is laid out in two phases, the first of which calls for 20 to 33 hostages to be released over several weeks in exchange for the pause and the release of Palestinian prisoners. The second phase is what sources described as the “restoration of sustainable calm,” during which the remaining hostages, captive Israeli soldiers and the bodies of hostages would be exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners.
The diplomatic source familiar with the talks said the reference to sustainable calm was “a way to agree to a permanent ceasefire without calling it that.”
We are spinning into a real war. Expect terrorism all over the Western world being perpetrated by Iranian-backed terror groups.
Israel, early Friday morning local time, launched missiles in a retaliatory strike against Iran, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.
The missile launches follow Iran’s attack last Saturday, where the country sent a volley of more than 300 uncrewed drones and missiles toward targets throughout the country, Israeli military officials previously said. All but a few were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States, officials said.
Iran’s attack came more than six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, after which the Israeli military began its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
For the first time ever, Iran has carried out strikes against Israeli territory.
In the middle of Saturday night, air raid alerts went off in Israel, residents were urged to seek shelter while explosions were heard as air defences were activated.
Interceptions lit up the night sky in several places across the country, while many drones and missiles were shot down by Israel’s allies before they reached Israeli territory.
At least nine countries were involved in the military escalation – with projectiles fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and downed by Israel, the US, the UK and France as well as Jordan.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. in recent days authorized the transfer of billions of dollars worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel, two sources familiar with the effort said on Friday, even as Washington publicly expresses concerns about an anticipated Israeli military offensive in Rafah.
The new arms packages include more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, said the sources, who confirmed a report in the Washington Post.
Washington gives $3.8 billion in annual military assistance to Israel, its longtime ally.
The package comes as Israel faces strong international criticism over its continued bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza and as some members of President Joe Biden’s party call for him to cut U.S. military aid.
On Thursday, the United States ended decades of stalwart support for Israel in the United Nations Security Council, submitting a draft resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The U.S., which negotiated the language of the proposed resolution with the governments of Egypt and Qatar, seeks to have the Security Council vote on it on Friday.
An earlier version of the resolution that was circulated earlier in the day Thursday linked the cessation of fighting with the release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas, the Associated Press reported. The latest revision, however, makes no such precondition for “the imperative of an immediate and sustained cease-fire.”
In February, the U.S. was the only nation on the Security Council to veto a similar resolution, saying that calling for an immediate end to military hostilities would imperil hostage negotiations.
The doctors warned about a potential “bloodbath” with “apocalyptic” consequences if Israel carries out its planned invasion of Rafah, a southern city by the border with Egypt where over 1.5 million displaced civilians are currently taking refuge.
“This is probably the worst crisis that can happen within this war,” Sahloul said.
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Although international leaders, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have publicly shared their concerns, a senior Israeli official told ABC News on Wednesday that “there is no world” in which Israel does not go ahead with its Rafah offensive, a military operation they claim will destroy the last battalions of Hamas left in the south.
The doctors affirmed that the situation is already dire and called for a cease-fire.
Frankly, Israel’s care to provide paths to safety, warnings, and humanitarian care for civilians as they prosecute the war is admirable. They do it at great risk to themselves and knowing that their enemy would not – has not – do the same for them. Hamas has a long history of using civilians as shields. There is one reason that civilian Gazans continue to be in the middle of a war. That reason is Hamas.
WASHINGTON — The White House is considering options for how to respond if Israel defies President Joe Biden’s repeated warnings against launching a military invasion of Rafah without a credible plan to protect Palestinian civilians, according to one former and three current U.S. officials.
The discussions are taking place amid growing concern in the administration and frustration among congressional Democrats that the president’s pleas will simply be ignored. Israel this week inched closer to initiating an incursion into the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip.
“Time and again, President Biden calls upon the Netanyahu government to take certain actions, and for the most part, time and again, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu ignores the president of the United States. And so I think that makes the United States look ineffective,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in an interview.
